Vacuum cleaners are required to separate dirt and dust from an airflow. Dirt and dust-laden air is sucked into the appliance via either a floor-engaging cleaner head or a tool connected to the end of a hose and wand assembly. The dirty air passes to some kind of separating apparatus which attempts to separate dirt and dust from the airflow. Many vacuum cleaners suck or blow the dirty air through a porous bag so that the dirt and dust is retained in the bag whilst cleaned air is exhausted to the atmosphere. In other vacuum cleaners, cyclonic or centrifugal separators are used to spin dirt and dust from the airflow (see, for example, EP0042723). Whichever type of separator is employed, there is commonly a risk of a small amount of dust passing through the separator and being carried to the fan and motor unit, which is used to create the flow of air through the vacuum cleaner whilst it is in operation.
In view of this, it is common for a filter to be positioned after the separating apparatus and before the motor. Such a filter is often called a ‘pre motor’ filter.
It would however be desirable to remove this pre-motor filter if possible such that the cost of producing the separating appliance is reduced and also so that a user does not have to maintain the pre-motor filter in any way. During use of a separating appliance such a pre-motor filter can get loaded with dust. If a user does not maintain the filter to remove this build up then it could affect the performance of the cleaning appliance.
In addition, it is very important for correct functioning of a vacuum cleaner to ensure that the separating apparatus is docked correctly with the remainder of the vacuum cleaner and to ensure that dust and dirt particles do not affect the performance of the motor and fan assembly which generate airflow through the vacuum cleaner.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved cleaning appliance.